It is difficult to tell if planets embedded in their natal protoplanetary disks are migrating closer to their stars. The authors of today’s paper devise a new observational signature to figure that out.

Do we really understand how black holes grow? Using new methods to run high resolution simulations, the authors of this paper investigate the evolution of gas near a supermassive black hole – and their results have serious implications for the models commonly used in cosmological simulations.

Beyond astro-ph

In light of the October 30 ruling on the Thirty Meter Telescope, a review of modern astronomy on Mauna Kea seems warranted. This post came out of the Astrobites Policy Committee, which focuses on science and the government.